Woodbury, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (11-8, 2-2) hung around for almost three quarters, but in the end could not overcome Cannon County’s (16-7, 5-1) prolific offensive attack as the Lions completed the District 9-AA season sweep in a 14-point home win, 74-60, on Friday night.

The Lions shot a blistering 60% from the floor as a team while holding Cascade to just 39% shooting as the reigning District 9-AA champs outscored the visitors, 39-31, in the second half.

Cascade’s Jason Cullum led the way for the Champions, scoring a team-high 21 points, ripping down nine rebounds, and dishing out seven assists in a near triple-double performance. Henry Stone chipped in with a season-high 16 points while chasing down seven rebounds while Kaleb Kelso was held to just 10 points. 

For Cannon County, Lukas Phillips got going early, scoring 19 of his game-high 24 points in the first half. Phillips also pulled down six rebounds while tallying five assists in an efficient all-around performance. Anderson Lara connected on four three-pointers in the second half as part of his 14 second-half points while Miles Alexander was held to just 11 points on the night. 

To start the game, Cannon County held an 11-8 lead before Jason Cullum connected on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the key to tie it up at 11 to end the opening period. 

In the second quarter, Cannon County shot 9/12 from the field to take a 35-26 lead before Cullum once again nailed a top-of-the-key buzzer-beating three-pointer to send Cascade to the halftime locker room trailing by just six points, 35-29. Cullum accounted for 15 of the Champs’ 29 points in the first half as Cascade shot just 8/24 as a team in the first two quarters.

Henry Stone (10) scored a season-high 16 points at Cannon County.

David Smith

In the second half, Cannon County began to tighten the screws on both ends, forcing four turnovers while Lara, after not scoring any points in the first half, connected on a trio of three-pointers to push the Lions’ lead to 52–42 at the end of the third quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, Cannon County outscored Cascade, 22-18, to come out on top, 74-60. The Lions adjusted defensively, holding Cullum to just six points in the second half, while Tyler Barrett, who torched Cannon County for 16 points in the first matchup, was held to just a single free throw. Stone scored nine of his 16 points in the final two quarters, but Cascade simply couldn’t string together enough stops on defense against the Lions’ offense.

Cascade falls to 11-8 (2-2) and travels to Grundy County on Monday night, LIVE on The Zinger 100.9 & AM 1400 starting at 5:45 p.m.